KR20170047270A - Portal-security detection mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

Describes an electronic device that identifies environmental conditions associated with a portal (such as a door or window). Specifically, the sensor mechanism of the electronic device measures environmental signals associated with the portals, such as vibrations and / or acoustic waves. The integrated circuit of the electronic device then analyzes the measured environmental signal to identify environmental conditions. To facilitate measurement, the electronic device may be mechanically coupled to the portal by an impedance-matching material such that vibrations and / or acoustic waves are coupled to the electronic device. The analysis may also be based on a measured environmental signal received from one or more additional electronic devices mechanically coupled to the portal and / or may be based on measurements of the mechanical transfer function associated with the portal based on the location of the electronic device on the portal Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > environmental < / RTI >

Description

PORTAL-SECURITY DETECTION MECHANISM

The described embodiments generally relate to an electronic device for monitoring a portal. More specifically, the described embodiments relate to techniques for determining environmental conditions associated with a portal.

With connectivity and trends in portable electronic devices, people's lives are undergoing radical changes. For example, through the Internet, now individuals can access vast amounts of information, and can also identify and interact with individuals, organizations, and companies around the world. As a result, online financial transactions (sometimes referred to as "electronic commerce") have increased significantly. Similarly, a larger and growing set of increasingly powerful computation and communication functions and applications of portable electronic devices (such as smartphones and tablets) accelerates this change, allowing information to be accessed and utilized at any location It provides individuals with the ability to perform various tasks.

In recent years it has been proposed to include these functions in other electronic devices located throughout the environment, including environments where people do not interact often. In the so-called " Internet of Things ", it has been proposed to provide more powerful computing functions and networking subsystems to facilitate wired or wireless communication in future versions of so-called "background " For example, the background electronic devices may include a cellular network interface (such as LTE), a wireless local area network interface (e.g., Bluetooth (trademark) of Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), Kirkland, Wash. Wireless networks such as those described in the IEEE 802.11 standard, and / or other types of wireless interfaces (such as a short-range wireless communication interface). Through these functions, background electronic devices can be integrated into the information network, I can change my life even more.

However, the overwhelming majority of existing background electronic devices in people's homes, offices, and vehicles do not have computing capabilities (such as processors capable of running various applications) or networking subsystems. Given the economics of many market segments (such as the consumer market sector), these so-called "legacy" background electronics (sometimes referred to as "legacy electronics") are unlikely to be swiftly replaced.

These barriers to entry and change are becoming barriers to the widespread implementation of the Internet of things. For example, it may be difficult to communicate with a legacy electronic device if there is no enhanced computing capability and / or a networking subsystem. In addition, even when the electronic device includes an enhanced computing function and / or a networking subsystem, power consumption and battery life may limit applications and tasks that may be performed.

The described embodiments relate to an electronic device including a mounting mechanism for mechanically coupling an electronic device to a portal. The electronic device further includes a sensor mechanism for measuring an environmental signal associated with the portal, and the sensor mechanism includes a vibration sensor and / or an acoustic transducer. In addition, the electronic device includes an integrated circuit that analyzes the measured environmental signal to identify environmental conditions associated with the portal.

Note that the mounting mechanism may include a surface having an impedance-matching material configured to mechanically engage the portal.

The portal may also include doors and / or windows.

In some embodiments, the electronic device includes interface circuitry for communicating environmental conditions to other electronic devices. Alternatively or additionally, the interface circuitry may communicate with one or more additional electronic devices mechanically coupled to the portal. In such embodiments, the analysis may be based on a measured environmental signal provided by one or more additional electronic devices.

In addition, the electronic device may include a sensor mechanism and a power source providing a power signal to the integrated circuit. Alternatively or additionally, the electronic device may include a receiver circuit that receives the power signal from the electromagnetic radiation in the external environment of the electronic device and provides a power signal to the sensor mechanism and the integrated circuit.

Note that the analysis may include calibrating the measured environmental conditions for the mechanical transfer function associated with the portal based on the location of the electronic device on the portal. The analysis may also be based on historical measurements of the environmental signal.

In addition, the sensor mechanism may include an accelerometer, a velocity sensor, an optical sensor, a position sensor, and / or an orientation sensor.

In addition, the environmental conditions may include attempts to forcibly open the portal, forced opening of the portal, attempts to destroy the portal, destruction of the portal, attempts to lock the associated portals, picking the lock, attempting to break the portal, The animal entering the portal, the oral response of the person entering the portal, knocking the portal, delivering the package close to the portal, inserting the incorrect key into the lock, and / or inserting the correct key into the lock .

Another embodiment provides one of the additional electronic devices described above that communicates the measured environmental signal to the electronic device such that the electronic device can identify the environmental condition associated with the portal.

Another embodiment provides the above-described integrated circuit.

Another embodiment provides a system having an electronic device and one or more additional electronic devices as described above.

Another embodiment provides a method of identifying environmental conditions associated with a portal, which may be performed by the above-described electronic device. During operation, the electronic device receives the measured environmental signals from one or more additional electronic devices mechanically coupled to the portal, wherein the environmental signals correspond to (or are related to) vibration and / or acoustic signals, Are in different positions on the portal. The electronic device then analyzes the measured environmental signal to identify environmental conditions, and the analysis is based on a historical measurement of the environmental signal.

In some embodiments, the analysis includes calibrating the measured environmental signal for a mechanical transfer function associated with the portal based on different locations of the one or more additional electronic devices on the portal.

The foregoing summary is provided as an overview of some illustrative embodiments and provides a basic understanding of aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, the foregoing features are illustrative only and should not be construed as limiting in any way the scope or spirit of the objects described herein. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims.

1 is a block diagram of a system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device of the system of Figure 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 is a block diagram of an integrated circuit of the electronic device of Figures 1 and 2, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;
4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for identifying environmental conditions associated with a portal in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5 illustrates the method of Figure 4 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 6 illustrates communications within the electronic device of Figures 1 and 2 during the method of Figure 4 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;
Note that like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the drawings. Also, multiple instances of the same part are specified by a common prefix, which is identified by an instance number and a dash.

Describes an electronic device that identifies environmental conditions associated with a portal (such as a door or window). Specifically, the sensor mechanism of the electronic device measures environmental signals associated with the portals, such as vibrations and / or acoustic waves. For example, environmental conditions may include attempts to forcibly open or destroy the portal or attempts to tamper with the pad, thereby causing vibration and / or acoustic waves measured by the sensor mechanism. The integrated circuit of the electronic device then analyzes the measured environmental signal to identify environmental conditions. To facilitate measurement, the electronic device may be mechanically coupled to the portal by an impedance-matching material such that vibrations and / or acoustic waves are coupled to the electronic device. The analysis may also be based on a measured environmental signal received from one or more additional electronic devices mechanically coupled to the portal and / or may be based on measurements of the mechanical transfer function associated with the portal based on the location of the electronic device on the portal Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > environmental < / RTI >

In this way, the electronic device may monitor the portal to identify environmental conditions. This functionality may facilitate various services, such as security or improved activity awareness associated with the portal. For example, the electronic device may determine when someone knocks on the portal or when the package is delivered. In addition, electronic devices may be deployed or installed quickly (with low cost and limited effort) and may have improved operating life (e.g., increased battery life between recharging or replacing batteries) and may be easier to use It may also represent an environmental monitoring device. Thus, the electronic device may provide a compact and inexpensive way to monitor the environmental conditions associated with the portal in an external environment including an electronic device. Accordingly, the enhanced functionality and services provided by the electronic device may facilitate the sale of the electronic device (and more generally, commercial activities) and may improve customer satisfaction with the electronic device.

It is noted that this environmental monitoring technology is not an abstract idea. Specifically, the monitoring of the environmental conditions included in the embodiments of the environmental monitoring technology is based on the basic economic principle. Human activity (the operation of environmental monitoring techniques typically involves measurements in a noisy environment) and / or mathematical relationships / formulas. In addition, environmental monitoring technology corresponds to far exceeding what is assumed to be an abstract idea. In particular, environmental monitoring techniques may improve the functionality of electronic devices that execute software or implement environmental monitoring techniques. For example, environmental monitoring techniques can accelerate computations performed during environmental monitoring techniques (such as analysis), reduce memory consumption when performing computations, and (as evidenced by improved monitoring of environmental conditions) (E. G., By allowing the user to view information about the environmental conditions associated with the portal) to improve the usability of the user interface displaying the results of the measurement or analysis And / or may improve other performance metrics related to the functionality of the electronic device. In addition, the measurement performed by the sensor mechanism of the electronic device constitutes a technical effect in which the information is modified.

Now, embodiments of the electronic device are described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 110 within system 100. FIG. The system includes a portal 112 (e.g., a door or a window) that allows selective access to an enclosure (such as a room or a building) based on the state of the portal (e.g., open or closed) . The one or more electronic devices 110 may be mechanically coupled to the portal 112 at different locations or locations 114 on the portal 112. [ For example, the one or more electronic devices 110 may include a surface bonded (or adhered using adhesive or tape) on the portal 112; A bracket screwed or nailed onto the portal 112; A bracket attached to the portal 112 using a clamp, a cable tie, an adhesive tape, a wraparound material, or the like; Or may include at least a portion of a mounting mechanism 116, such as a bracket welded or brazed to the portal 112. As a result, the mechanical coupling may be remade or may include a rigid coupling that is not easily reversible.

The one or more electronic devices 110 may monitor the portal 112 to facilitate identification of environmental conditions associated with the portal 112. Using the electronic device 110-1 as an example, the sensor mechanism 118-1 may measure the environmental signal associated with the portal 112. [ For example, the sensor mechanism 118-1 may be configured to detect vibrations, acoustic waves, impulses, the location of the portals 112, the movement of the portals 112, the acceleration of the portals 112, ≪ / RTI > may be measured. Thus, various sensors based on different physical principles, including vibration sensors, acoustic transducers, accelerometers, velocity sensors, optical sensors, position sensors, and / or orientation sensors, Or may be used in the sensor mechanism 118-1 to detect it indirectly. The sensor mechanism 118-1 may be configured to detect vibrations and / or acoustic waves (e.g., waves associated with mechanical vibrations, such as waves having a wavelength in the acoustic band between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz or below the lowest resonance frequency of the portal 112) In the measuring embodiments, the mounting mechanism 116 may be mounted on a portal 112 facing the surface (such as a gel, adhesive, solder, etc.) to improve the mechanical coupling of the vibration and / Etc.). ≪ / RTI >

One or more of the one or more electronic devices 110 may analyze the measured environmental signals (sometimes referred to as "electrical signals ") to identify environmental conditions associated with the portals 112. For example, the environmental conditions may include an attempt to force the portal 112 to open, a forced opening of the portal 112, an attempt to destroy the portal 112, a destruction of the portal 112, a lock associated with the portal 112 An attempt to break the frame of the portal 112, an unauthorized use of the portal 112, an animal entering the portal 112, an attempt to break the frame of the portal 112, (E.g., "Hello, I came home"), knocking portal 112, blowing to portal 112, delivering a package close to portal 112, inserting an incorrect key into the lock , Accurate key insertion in the lock, and / or a sensor mechanism malfunction (such as sensor mechanism 118-1). [0092] Specifically, (E.g., an electrical signal) of an electrical signal, such as an electrical signal, (For example, by a low-pass filter or a band-pass filter) filtering, more generally, spectral shaping. In addition, the analysis may be performed by a voltage detector, an ammeter, a transimpedance amplifier, A lock-in amplifier (which may be synchronized to a time-varying electrical signal having a fundamental frequency corresponding to the waves associated with the portal 112), an amplifier, a phase detector, a resonance monitor, a Fourier analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, (And more generally, a demodulator) that measures and / or captures one or more instances of one or more electrical signals, and / or a measurement and / or detection The analysis performed by the integrated circuit 120-1 may include synchronous or asynchronous detection.

In some embodiments, the analysis is based on predefined information. Specifically, the predefined information (such as the transformation from the parameters of the portal 112 to the displacement) may be obtained locally (on the electronic device 110-1) using a stored look-up table or translation table. Alternatively, or in addition, the interface circuitry 122-1 (or network interface) of the electronic device 110-1 may be coupled to a network interface, such as, for example, from the optional computer 126 (Internet, wireless local area network, Ethernet network, intranet, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > network 124). ≪ / RTI > Thus, the analysis may include transforming the measured parameters of the portal 112 into displacements using a look up table or transform table that summarizes the values of the parameters and the corresponding displacements.

Similarly, the analysis may be performed on a predetermined mechanical transfer function (which may be one of the translation tables) associated with the portal 112 based on the location 114-1 of the electronic device 110-1 on the portal 112 Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > a < / RTI > measured environmental signal. For example, a Fourier transform (such as a discrete Fourier transform) may transform the measured environment signal into the frequency domain. The inverse of the mechanical transfer function at location 114-1 may then be used to correct the dynamic response of portal 112 at location 114-1. Next, the inverse Fourier transform may convert the corrected environment signal into the time domain. Alternatively, the effect of the mechanical transfer function may be removed or corrected by deconvolving the mechanical transfer function from the measured environmental signal. For example, the door may be modeled as a rectangular drum head with no (or minimal) displacement in the hinge or lock (when the door is closed). In the end, there may be vibration modes in which displacements are variable at different positions on the door in response to an impact such as knocking or knocking on a door.

The integrated circuit 120-1 may also analyze the environmental signal measured using the historical measurement of the environmental signal. For example, integrated circuit 120-1 may locally obtain historical measurements (on electronic device 110-1) using stored values of historical measurements. Alternatively, or in addition, the interface circuitry 122-1 (or network interface) of the electronic device 110-1 may access historical measurements from, for example, the optional computer 126 via the optional network 124 .

It is noted that the environmental conditions may be determined for a threshold value (e.g., a displacement magnitude exceeding a velocity of 0.01 m or 0.01 m / s). Thus, the measured environmental signal (or the corrected environmental signal) may be compared to a threshold and a binary output may be calculated (e.g., "0" may be less than a threshold, "1" Value). Alternatively, the vaginal displacement, velocity, or acceleration may be determined to be accuracy (e.g., 0.1%). In this manner, the environmental conditions associated with the portal 112 (and, more generally, the external environment 128 including the portal 112) (which may include and / or depend on the specific information described above) Or may be a function of the specified information) may be determined.

In addition, when there are multiple instances of the electronic device 110 at different locations 114 along the portal 112, analysis of the measured environment signals by the one or more electronic devices 110 may be performed by two or more electronic devices 110 ) May be used. For example, the interface circuitry of electronic device 110-2 may communicate measurements with interface circuitry 122-1. This communication may include wireless communication of the packet. Such a packet may be included in a frame of one or more radio channels. As a result, the interface circuitry includes a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 130-1) that transmits wireless signals 132 (shown as jagged lines) to one or more other electronic devices 110 And these radio signals are received by the instance of the wireless device. In general, wireless communication between the electronic devices 110 may or may not include an established connection between such electronic devices, and thus may or may not include communication over a wireless network . Alternatively, or as further described below with reference to FIG. 5, the sensor mechanism 118-1 may include a portal 112 (e.g., a wireless sensor) that communicates measurements to the interface circuit 120-1 via a wireless signal 132 or wired communication. And may include a plurality of sensors at different locations 114 along the same path. In addition, in some embodiments, communication may occur through the portal 112. [ In particular, carriers (such as oscillations) having a fundamental frequency may convey information using encoding techniques such as amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, phase modulation, pulse code modulation, and the like.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 110-1 includes a sensor mechanism 118-1 and a power supply 134-1 that provides a power signal to the integrated circuit 120-1. For example, the power supply 134-1 may include a battery (and, more generally, a cell or a battery pack and a device that converts stored chemical energy into electricity). Alternatively or additionally, the power supply 134-1 may be configured to generate a power signal 134 from electromagnetic radiation (such as electromagnetic radiation having a fundamental frequency at least in the band of frequencies) in the external environment 128 of the electronic device 110-1 (Or may use the interface circuitry 122-1) to receive power from the sensor device 118-1 and provide a power signal to the sensor mechanism 118-1 and the integrated circuit 120-1. Thus, other electronic devices may transmit electromagnetic radiation in the external environment 128. This electromagnetic radiation may be received at one or more of the electronic devices 110 to at least partially supply power to the electronic device 110.

In some embodiments, the power supply 134-1 may include a recharging circuit and a rechargeable battery, and the recharging circuit may provide power to the power supply 134- (for example, based on the received electromagnetic radiation) 1). ≪ / RTI > Thus, the electromagnetic radiation may be used (directly or indirectly) to power electronic device 110-1, thereby improving the operational life of the rechargeable battery or the time between recharges. In some embodiments, the recharging circuit includes a regulated power supply, a DC power supply, an AC power supply, a switch-mode power supply, and the like. This may facilitate recharging by converting the electrical signal from power supply 134-1 into a DC or AC electrical signal suitable for recharging the rechargeable battery.

After identifying or determining the environmental condition, the electronic device 110-1 may use the interface circuit 122-1 to provide this information (such as another instance of the electronic device 110, a legacy electronic device, a user's cellular phone, etc.) Lt; / RTI > electronic device 136 (e. G. For example, the electronic device 110-1 may wirelessly communicate to the electronic device 136 packets having information identifying the determined information associated with the portal 112. For example, These packets may be included in a frame of one or more wireless channels. As a result, the electronic device 136 may receive the wireless signals 132 using the wireless device 130-2. In general, the silent communication between the electronic devices 110, 136 may or may not include an established connection between such electronic devices, and thus may or may not include communication over the wireless network. Note that the communication between the optional computer 126 and the electronic devices 110 via the optional network 124 may include a communication protocol other than the associated communication protocol in the wireless signals 132. [ Thus, communications over the optional network 124 may or may not include the wireless signals 132.

The identified environmental conditions may facilitate various services and improved functionality of the electronic device of FIG. For example, the service may include a user, a supplier of parts or spare parts associated with such electronic devices 110 (and / or 136) (such as the owner or tenant of the electronic devices), maintenance personnel, security personnel, May be provided to potential purchasers, ships or transporters of agents, insurance companies, insurance brokers, real estate agents, rental agents, apartment landlords, hotel guests, hotels, restaurants, postings, organizations, governmental and physical objects. In particular, the identified environmental conditions may include one or more of the devices (e. G., Legacy electronic devices and / or regulator devices) that may or may not directly communicate information with electronic devices 110 and / The function or operation of the above-described electronic device can be adapted or changed. For example, an alert may sound when a forced entry attempt through the portal 112 is detected. Alternatively, a warning may be provided to the user ' s cellular phone when the package is delivered to the portal 112. [ As another example, a notification may be sent to the user's cellular phone when a family pet enters a residence through the portal 112 (such as a so-called "doggy door "), Or a digest, to determine whether the pet is indoors or outdoors. Similarly, when the portal 112 is in the open or closed state, other environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, relative humidity, allergen concentration, wind stronger than the threshold blown into the door) of the external environment 128 For example, by turning on / off the heater, turning the humidifier on / off, turning the air filter on / off, turning the lights on / off, etc.). The service (s) may also include maintenance notification regarding the portal 112 and / or the electronic device 110. For example, based on the identified environmental conditions, the electronic device 110 may provide a maintenance notification to the user's cellular phone (e.g., via the optional network 124) Repair, or service performed on the malfunction sensor of device 110-1, and / or correcting for unauthorized entry through portal 112 by repairing the lock).

Although the environment shown in Fig. 1 is described by way of example, in alternative embodiments, there may be different numbers or types of electronic devices. For example, some embodiments include more or fewer electronic devices. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 1, one or more components of the electronic device 112 may be coupled or connected by additional signal lines or buses.

2 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 200 that may be one of the electronic devices 110 of FIG. This electronic device includes a processing subsystem 210 (more generally an integrated circuit or control mechanism), a memory subsystem 212, a networking subsystem 214, a power subsystem 216, a switching subsystem 220, And an optional sensor subsystem 224 (i.e., a data acquisition subsystem, more generally a sensor mechanism). The processing subsystem 210 includes one or more devices configured to perform computational operations and execute techniques for processing sensor data. For example, the processing subsystem 210 may include one or more microprocessors, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a microcontroller, a programmable logic device, and / or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs).

The memory subsystem 212 includes one or more devices for storing data and / or instructions for the processing subsystem 210, the networking subsystem 214, and / or the optional sensor subsystem 224. For example, memory subsystem 212 may include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), and / or other types of memory. The memory subsystem 212 may store one or more translation tables 236 (e.g., a table having a value of a parameter and a corresponding value of an environmental condition, or a table having a value of a mechanical transfer function). In some embodiments, instructions for processing subsystem 210 in memory subsystem 212 may be executed by processing subsystem 210 by one or more (e.g., operating system 234) operating environments Program module 232 or a set of instructions. Note that one or more computer programs may constitute a computer-program mechanism or program module. In addition, the instructions in the various modules within the memory subsystem 212 may be implemented in a high-level procedural language, an object-oriented programming language, and / or an assembly or machine language. Also, the programming language may be compiled or interpreted to be executed by the processing subsystem 210, for example, may be configurable or may be configured (which may be used interchangeably in this description).

The memory subsystem 212 may also include a mechanism for controlling access to the memory. In some embodiments, the memory subsystem 212 includes a memory hierarchy that includes one or more caches coupled to a memory within the electronic device 200. In some of these embodiments, one or more of the caches are located in the processing subsystem 210.

In some embodiments, the memory subsystem 212 is coupled to one or more high capacity mass storage devices (not shown). For example, the memory subsystem 212 may be coupled to a magnetic or optical drive, a solid state drive, or other type of mass storage device. In these embodiments, the memory subsystem 212 is used by the electronic device 200 as a fast access storage device for frequently used data, while the mass storage device is used to store less frequently used data .

The networking subsystem 214 is coupled to and coupled to a wired network, an optical network, and / or a wireless network, including an interface circuit 228 (such as a ZigBee communication circuit) and one or more antennas 230 Includes one or more devices configured to communicate (i.e., perform network operations, more generally, communications). For example, the networking subsystem 214 may include a Zigbee networking subsystem, a Bluetooth networking system (which may include Bluetooth low power, BLE or Bluetooth LE), a cellular networking system (3G / 4G network such as UMTS, , A USB networking system, a networking system (e.g., a Wi-Fi networking system), an Ethernet networking system, an infrared communication system, a power line communication system, and / Communication system.

The networking subsystem 214 also includes a processor, a controller, a wireless device / antenna, a socket / plug, and / or the like used for coupling, communication, and processing of data and events for each supported networking or communication system Device. It is noted that the mechanism used for combining, communicating, and processing the data and events of the network for each network system is sometimes referred to as a network interface of the network system. Also, in some embodiments, there is not yet a 'network' between the electronic devices. Thus, the electronic device 200 may include a networking sub-system 200 for performing simple wireless communications between the electronic device 200 and other electronic devices that transmit, for example, ad frames, applications, beacons, and / The mechanism of system 214 may also be used.

In addition, the electronic device 200 may include a power subsystem 216 having one or more power supplies 218. Each of these power sources may include a battery (such as a rechargeable or non-rechargeable battery), a DC power supply, a transformer, and / or a switch-mode power supply. In addition, the one or more power supplies 218 may operate in either a voltage limited mode or a current limited mode. In addition, these power sources may be connected to a wall or receptacle socket or plug, optical socket (or bulb socket), an electrical wire (such as a multi-wire electrical terminal), a wall or outlet socket (such as a bifurcated or tri- May be mechanically and electrically coupled by a male or female adapter to a ring, generator, USB port or connector, a DC power plug or socket, a cellular phone charger cable, a photodiode, a photocell, and the like. Such mechanical and electrical coupling may be rigid or reconfigurable. Note that one or more of the power sources 218 may be mechanically and electrically coupled to an external power source or other electronic device by one of the electrical connection nodes in the switch 222 of the switching subsystem 220.

In some embodiments, the power subsystem 216 includes a pass-through power supply for one or more electrical connectors to an external electronic device (e.g., a device or regulator device) that may be plugged into one or more electrical connectors Or function as such a passing power supply. Power to one or more electrical connectors (and hence external electronic devices) may be locally controlled by the processing subsystem 210, the switching subsystem 220 (e.g., by the switch 222) And / or remotely controlled by the networking subsystem 214.

In addition to sensor mechanism 118-1 (FIG. 1), optional sensor subsystem 224 may include one or more sensor devices 226 (or sensor array) that may include one or more processors and memory . For example, the one or more sensor devices 226 may include a thermal sensor (such as a thermometer), a humidity sensor, a barometer, a camera or video recorder (such as a CCD or CMOS imaging sensor) A load monitoring sensor or an electrical feature detector (and more generally, a sensor that monitors one or more electrical characteristics), an infrared sensor (which may be active or passive) , A particle detector, an air quality sensor, a particle sensor, an optical particle sensor, an ionized particle sensor, a smoke detector (such as an optical smoke detector or an ionizing smoke detector), a microscope, a particle detector (such as a detector of dandruff, pollen, dust, A fire detection sensor, a radon detector, a carbon monoxide detector, a chemical sensor or detector, a volatile organic compound sensor, , A chemical analyzer, a mass analyzer, a microanalysis device, a nanoplasmon sensor, a dielectric sensor (such as a microarray), an accelerometer, a position or location sensor (such as a global positioning system or a GPS based location sensor), a gyroscope Proximity sensors, microwave / radar sensors (which may be active or homogeneous), ultrasonic sensors, vibration sensors, fluid flow sensors, photodetectors, optical sensors, A Geiger counter, a radio frequency radiation detector, and / or other devices for measuring physical effects or characterizing environmental factors or physical phenomena (directly or indirectly). The one or more sensor devices 226 may include redundancy (such as multiple instances of the type of sensor device) for handling sensor failures or erroneous readings to provide improved accuracy and / or provide improved accuracy It is also noted that

During operation of the electronic device 200, the processing subsystem 210 may include one or more program modules 232, such as an environmental monitoring application, that use the one or more sensor devices 226 to measure environmental signals associated with a portal in an external environment, . The measurement results may be analyzed by an environmental monitoring application to identify environmental conditions associated with the portal. The identified environmental conditions may also be used to modify the operation of an electronic device and / or an external electronic device (such as a regulator device) and / or to transmit information about the external environment to another (separate) electronic device (E. G., Via subsystem 214). ≪ / RTI >

In addition, an electrical signal generated by the power subsystem 216 (e.g., in response to a received electromagnetic signal) may be used to recharge one or more of the power supplies 218. For example, such power may be used to at least partially offset or compensate for power loss (sometimes referred to as parasitic power loss) during operation of the electronic device 200 or during standby mode (associated with one or more components of the electronic device 200) You may.

After the environmental conditions associated with the portal are identified, the environmental monitoring application may share this information with one or more other electronic devices via the networking subsystem 214.

Within the electronic device 200, a processing subsystem 210, a memory subsystem 212, a networking subsystem 214, a power subsystem 216, a switching subsystem 220, and / (S) 224 may be coupled using one or more interconnects, such as bus 238. [ Such interconnections may include electrical, optical, and / or electro-optical connections that the subsystem may use to communicate commands and data with each other. Note that the different embodiments may include different numbers or configurations of electrical, optical, and / or electrical-optical connections between the subsystems.

The electronic device 200 may be various electronic devices (or may be included in such electronic devices). For example, the electronic device 200 may be a wireless device such as a sensor (such as a smart sensor), a tablet computer, a smart phone, a cellular phone, a facility, a coordinator, a consumer electronic device (e.g., a baby monitor) (Such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a server and / or a subnote / netbook, etc.), a digital signal processor, a controller, a PDA, a laser printer (or other office equipment such as a copier), a personal digital assistant, (Or may be included in these examples), devices, lighting (such as night lighting), alarms, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, monitoring devices, and / or other electronic devices (such as switches or routers).

Although certain components have been used to describe the electronic device 200, in alternate embodiments, the electronic device 200 may have different components and / or subsystems. For example, the electronic device 200 may include one or more additional processing subsystems, a memory subsystem, a networking subsystem, a power subsystem, a switching subsystem, and / or a sensor subsystem. In addition, one or more of the subsystems may not be present in electronic device 200. Further, in some embodiments, electronic device 200 may include a display subsystem, such as a user interface subsystem (which may include speakers and / or a light source), a display subsystem, and / Or may include one or more additional subsystems that are not.

Although separate subsystems are shown in Figure 2, in some embodiments, some or all of a given subsystem or component may be integrated in one or more of the remaining subsystems or components of the electronic device 200 have. For example, in some embodiments, one or more program modules 232 are included in the operating system 234. In some embodiments, the components of a given subsystem are included in another subsystem.

In addition, the circuitry and components of the electronic device 200 may be implemented using any combination of analog and / or digital circuits including bipolar, PMOS, and / or CMOS gates or transistors. In addition, the signals of these embodiments may comprise digital signals having approximately discrete values and / or analog signals having consecutive values. In addition, the components and the circuit may be single-ended or differential, and the power supply may be unipolar or bipolar.

The integrated circuit may implement some or all of the functionality of the networking subsystem 214 (such as wireless), and more generally, implement some of the functionality of the electronic device 200. The integrated circuit may also include hardware and / or software mechanisms that are used to transmit wireless signals from the electronic device 200 to another electronic device and receive signals from the other electronic device in the electronic device 200 have. Apart from the apparatuses described herein, the wireless devices are generally known in the art and thus the detailed description is omitted. In general, the networking subsystem 214 and / or the integrated circuit may include any number of wireless devices. The wireless devices in embodiments of the plurality of wireless devices function in a manner similar to the wireless devices described in the embodiments of a single wireless device.

In some embodiments, the networking subsystem 214 and / or the integrated circuit may be configured to configure the wireless device (s) to perform transmission and / or reception on a given communication channel (e.g., a given carrier frequency) Such as hardware and / or software utilities. For example, in some embodiments, the mechanism may be used to switch the wireless device from monitoring and / or transmission of a given communication channel to monitoring and / or transmission on another communication channel. (As used herein, ' monitoring ' is intended to include receiving signals from other electronic devices and performing one or more processing operations on the received signals, for example, Includes determining whether the < / RTI >

Although some of the operations of the above-described embodiments are implemented in hardware or software, in general, the operations in the above-described embodiments may be implemented in various configurations and architectures. Accordingly, some or all of the operations in the above-described embodiments may be performed in hardware, software, or both.

Aspects of environmental monitoring techniques may be implemented using integrated circuits. This is shown in Fig. 3, which shows a block diagram of the integrated circuit 300 of the electronic device 200 (Fig. 2). Specifically, this integrated circuit includes a sensor mechanism 118-1 (such as one or more sensor devices 226 of FIG. 2); One or more input nodes (310) electrically coupled to other external components; And interface circuit 120-1 (or interface circuit 228 of FIG. 2).

In some embodiments, the output of the process for designing the integrated circuit 300, including the one or more of the circuits described herein, or for designing the integrated circuit 300 may be, for example, a magnetic tape, Or a computer readable medium such as a disk. The computer readable medium may be encoded with data structures or other information describing circuits that may be physically instantiated as part of integrated circuit 300 or integrated circuit 300. [ Although various formats may be used for such encoding, these data structures are typically written in CIF (Caltech Intermediate Format), GDSIT (Calma GDS II Stream Format), or EDIF (Electronic Design Interchange Format). Those skilled in the art of integrated circuit design can develop such data structures from the schematic diagrams and corresponding descriptions of the types described above, and can encode their data structures on computer readable media. Those skilled in the art of integrated circuit manufacturing technology can use such encoded data to fabricate integrated circuits that include one or more of the circuits described herein.

Now, the environmental monitoring technology and the operation of electronic devices are described in detail. 4 presents a flow chart illustrating a method 400 of identifying environmental conditions associated with a portal that may be performed by one of the electronic devices 110 (Fig. 1). During operation, the electronic device may be configured such that one or more additional electronic devices corresponding to (or associated with) vibrational and / or acoustic signals are located at different locations on the portal, one or more additional electronic devices mechanically coupled to the portal (Operation 410). The electronic device then analyzes the measured environmental signal (act 412) to identify the environmental condition, and the analysis is based on the hysteresis measurement of the environmental signal (e.g., comparing the measured environmental signal to the hysteresis measurement Or a deviation of the < / RTI > It is noted that the analysis may also be based on measurements of environmental signals associated with the portal being performed by the electronic device. In addition, in some embodiments, the analysis includes calibrating the measured environmental signal for a mechanical transfer function associated with the portal based on a different location of the one or more additional electronic devices on the portal.

In an exemplary embodiment, the sensor mechanism 118-1 measures acoustic signals. This is illustrated in FIG. 5, which illustrates a diagram illustrating method 400 (FIG. 4). In this example, there are multiple sensors 510 associated with sensor mechanisms 118-1 at different locations 512 on portal 112, instead of different electronic devices. Ideally, the sensor 510 may be located at the anti-node in response to the portal 112 to the impulse. Information about the preferred location or location 512 may be communicated to the user when displayed on the electronic device 110-1 or when installing the sensor 510 on the portal 112. [ However, in some embodiments, the user places the sensor 510 at an arbitrary location 512 on the portal 112. The sensor 510 may be used to transmit information (e.g., using information conveyed in a vibration such as a modulating wave having a fundamental frequency within or outside the hearing range of a human being) Note that the measured environmental signals may also be communicated to the electronic device 110-1. The communication may also include a unique identifier of the sensor 510 so that the electronic device 110-1 may associate the measured environmental signal with its source (i.e., the sensor at the particular location 512) .

The measured environmental signal may be analyzed using a low-pass or band-pass filter that excludes external signals or noise. Also, in addition to or in addition to making corrections to the mechanical transfer function, the measured environmental signals from the sensor 510 can be stored on the portal 112 (such as someone knocking on the portal 112) May be analyzed as a function of time to determine a possible location 514 of the impulse. This analysis may be based on the propagation speed of the sound waves on the portal 112. The analysis may also use the Green function to determine the environmental signal at any given sensor based on the impulse at location 514. [ As in the case of the correction for the mechanical transfer function described above, this analysis may be inverted to determine the strength or magnitude of the impulse (such as the peak amplitude of the impulse). This may allow for environmental conditions (in this example, someone knocking on the portal 112) by comparing the calibrated environmental signal with a hysteresis measurement or baseline. In particular, an increase in the environmental signal with respect to the baseline may indicate that an environmental condition exists.

In other instances, sensors 510 may detect signatures for noteworthy activities. For example, the sensor 510 may detect sounds associated with picking or punching a lock, kicking a door, knocking on a door, destroying a glass, lifting it with a crown (or other breakage and entry noise) May be detected. The knock profile and / or time (in the history of the knocking sound) may be used to identify delivery of the package. This may allow electronic device 110-1 to be notified that it has been delivered to the user of electronic device 110-1. Alternatively, criminals often see if the door is locked. Such anomalous activity may be detected as when no one is in a residential, commercial or industrial space. When an instance of the electronic device 110-1 of a location (e.g., home) or neighbor (or several buildings on a corporate campus) is similar during a time interval (e.g., one hour, several hours, or successive days) Upon reporting an event, one or more of the electronic devices or a central server in communication with the electronic device may report it to an authority (such as a police or security company). In addition, electronic device 110-1 may activate light proximate or in proximity to portal 112 to inhibit potential criminals. In some embodiments, electronic device 110-1 is used to monitor incoming pets through a so-called "open door ".

By combining time, location, activities at nearby sites, and activity signatures (knock, attacker test, etc.), normal portal activities can be distinguished from abnormal portal activities that can represent actual security risks. For example, an activity signature for drilling a door lock may generate an alarm. However, if this occurs during normal business hours and the server communicating with the electronic device determines that there is a possibility that the operator will query the service order database for the building maintenance schedule and work through the door at that time, You may notify your employees or guards to double-check the portal without notifying you. Alternatively, if the same activity signature is detected at the bank gate at 4 am, the server may immediately notify the authorities. Note that activity signatures can be recorded and compared in a history database of activities including time, location, frequency of occurrence.

The configuration of the sensor 510 shown in Fig. 5 is for illustrative purposes only. In other embodiments, different configurations or topologies are used. For example, a star topology may be used that has a one-to-one or one-to-one connection to one electronic device and sensor 510. In another embodiment, serial or chain communication is used between the electronic device and / or instances of multiple sensors. In any of these embodiments, the sensors and / or instances of the electronic device may be arranged in a mesh network, wherein the communication includes hopping of packets from one electronic device or sensor to an adjacent electronic device or sensor have. As discussed above, communication may be accomplished through vibration on wireless, wired, and / or portal 112 (e.g., acoustic transducers within an electronic device transmit information through vibrations, such as within or outside the hearing range of a person Or may receive).

Note that the location 512 of the sensor 510 (or the spatial map of the sensor locations) may be provided by the user when the user installs the sensors 510 on the portal 112. However, in other embodiments, position 512 is determined at least in part using a local positioning system and / or a global positioning system (thus, in some embodiments, the electronic device includes a position sensor). More generally, location 512 of sensor 510 (and / or multiple instances of the electronic device) may be determined using triangulation or trilateration. For example, each of the sensors 510 may transmit a signal in a round-robin fashion, and the flight time for the rest of the sensors 510 may be measured such that the positions 512 can be determined.

Once an environmental condition is identified, the environmental condition may be used to guide the healing action. Depending on the environmental conditions, this may include providing alarms or alarms. However, the environmental conditions may also be used to modify other environmental conditions of the external environment. For example, when a door or window is open, a switch in the electronic device may selectively electrically couple or disconnect other electronic devices (e.g., regulator devices) from the power source. In this way, regulator devices (e.g., heaters, air conditioners, air filters, etc.) may be selectively activated. Alternatively, or in addition, the adjustment may be associated with the user ' s medical condition. Although a selective electrical coupling or disengagement based on static or fixed preferences (e.g., environmental conditions) has been described above, more generally, the adjustment may be varied or changed as a function of time or under identified environmental conditions , Which may cause the electronic device to dynamically respond to or control other environmental conditions.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating communication within a method 400 (FIG. 4) and a barbed electronic device 110-1 (FIG. 1). During operation of the electronic device 110-1, the interface circuit 122-1 may optionally be configured to detect the displacement of the portal from the electronic device 110-2 transmitted by the electronic device 110-2 610 < / RTI > These measurements are provided to the integrated circuits 120-1. Also. The sensor mechanism 118-1 performs a measurement 612 associated with the displacement of the portal and these measurements are provided to the integrated circuit 120-1.

In response, the integrated circuit 120-1 analyzes (614) the measurements 610 and / or 612. This analysis may optionally include the use of one or more translation tables 616 that may be received from memory 618 via interface circuit 122-1 or from an external device (such as electronic device 136) .

The integrated circuit 120-1 then provides the result 620 of the analysis 614 to the interface circuit 122-1 (such as identified environmental conditions) and the interface circuit 122-1 provides the result 620 To other electronic devices, such as electronic device 136. [

While the exemplary integrated circuit 120-1 described above is operating in an environmental monitoring technology, in other embodiments, at least some of these operations are performed by a processor of the electronic device 110-1 (i.e., At least some of the operations being performed by software executed by the processor).

In some embodiments of one or more of the aforementioned methods, there may be more or less work. In addition, the order of operations may be changed, and / or two or more operations may be combined into a single operation. Further, in some of the embodiments described above, there are fewer components, more components, locations of components are changed, and / or two or more components are combined.

While an electronic device mounted on a portal has been described above, in other embodiments (such as having multiple instances of a sensor associated with the electronic device), the electronic device may be mounted near the portal. For example, the electronic device may be mounted on a wall, cabinet, ground / floor, enclosure and / or near a portal.

In the above description, reference has been made to "some embodiments ". It should be noted that "some embodiments" describes a subset of all possible embodiments, but does not always specify the same subset of embodiments.

The foregoing description is presented to enable a technician of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the present disclosure and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Moreover, the foregoing description of the embodiments of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description only. These embodiments are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Moreover, the description of the above-described embodiments is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

Claims (20)

As an electronic device,
A mounting mechanism configured to mechanically couple to a portal;
A sensor mechanism configured to measure an environmental signal associated with the portal, the sensor mechanism comprising one of a vibration sensor and an acoustic transducer; And
And an integrated circuit electrically coupled to the sensor mechanism and configured to analyze the measured environmental signal to identify environmental conditions associated with the portal. 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the mounting mechanism comprises a surface having an impedance-matching material configured to be mechanically coupled to the portal. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the portal comprises one of a door and a window. 2. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising an interface circuit configured to communicate the environmental condition to another electronic device. 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an interface circuit configured to communicate with one or more additional electronic devices mechanically coupled to the portal,
Wherein the analysis is based on a measured environmental signal provided by the one or more additional electronic devices. 2. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a power source electrically coupled to the sensor mechanism and the integrated circuitry and configured to provide a power signal to the sensor mechanism and the integrated circuitry. 2. The receiver of claim 1, further comprising: a receiver electrically coupled to the sensor mechanism and the integrated circuit, configured to receive a power signal from electromagnetic radiation in an external environment of the electronic device and to provide a power signal to the sensor mechanism and the integrated circuit ≪ / RTI > further comprising a circuit. 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the analysis comprises calibrating the measured environment signal with respect to a mechanical transfer function associated with the portal based on the location of the electronic device on the portal. 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the analysis is based on a historical measurement of the environmental signal. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the sensor mechanism further comprises one of an accelerometer, a velocity sensor, an optical sensor, a position sensor, and an orientation sensor. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the environmental condition is selected from the group consisting of attempts to forcefully open the portal, forced opening of the portal, attempt to destroy the portal, destruction of the portal, attempt to fit the lock associated with the portal, An attempt to puncture a lock on the portal, an attempt to damage the frame of the portal, an animal entering the portal, a verbal response of a person entering the portal, knocking on the portal, delivering a package close to the portal, Inserting an incorrect key into the lock, and inserting the correct key into the lock. As an electronic device,
A mounting mechanism configured to be mechanically coupled to the portal;
A sensor mechanism configured to measure an environmental signal associated with the portal, the sensor mechanism comprising at least one of a vibration sensor and an acoustic transducer; And
And interface circuitry electrically coupled to the sensor mechanism and configured to communicate the measured environmental signal to another electronic device to identify environmental conditions associated with the portal. 13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the mounting mechanism comprises a surface having an impedance-matching material configured to be mechanically coupled to the portal. 13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the portal comprises one of a door and a window. 13. The electronic device of claim 12, further comprising a power source electrically coupled to the sensor mechanism and the interface circuitry and configured to provide a power signal to the sensor mechanism and the interface circuitry. 13. The receiver of claim 12, further comprising: a receiver configured to be electrically coupled to the sensor mechanism and to the interface circuit and configured to receive a power signal from electromagnetic radiation in an external environment of the electronic device and to provide a power signal to the sensor mechanism and the interface circuit ≪ / RTI > further comprising a circuit. 13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the sensor mechanism further comprises at least one of an accelerometer, a velocity sensor, an optical sensor, a position sensor, and an orientation sensor. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the environmental condition is selected from the group consisting of attempts to forcefully open the portal, forced opening of the portal, attempt to destroy the portal, destruction of the portal, attempt to fit the lock associated with the portal, An attempt to puncture a lock on the portal, an attempt to damage the frame of the portal, an animal entering the portal, a verbal response of a person entering the portal, knocking on the portal, delivering a package close to the portal, Inserting an incorrect key into the lock, and inserting the correct key into the lock. A method of implementing an electronic device for identifying an environmental condition associated with a portal,
Receiving a measured environmental signal from one or more additional electronic devices mechanically coupled to the portal, wherein the environmental signal corresponds to one of a vibration signal and an acoustic signal, and wherein the one or more additional electronic devices are different Receiving, in a location; And
And using the electronic device to analyze the measured environmental signal to identify the environmental condition,
Wherein the analysis is based on a hysteresis measurement of the environmental signal. 20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the analysis comprises calibrating the measured environmental signal with respect to a mechanical transfer function associated with the portal based on different locations of the one or more additional electronic devices on the portal. Implementation method.

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